Schwabing loses flair and becomes more and more uniform
This district has an international reputation. Schwabing is not just associated with Munich’s awakening, innovation and freedom. But is it really still a living patch today with the spirit and feeling of the past?
Munich – This is what drives the SPD, who wanted to find out on site with former mayor Christian Ude: What will become of ours Schwabing?
SPD city council members Julia Schmitt-Thiel and Lars Mentrup talk to residents at the information stand on the corner of Hohenzollernstrasse and Friedrichstrasse. Their goal: We make Schwabing even more beautiful. It’s about the square in front of the parish church of St. Ursula. “Since there are a lot of people in front of the church in summer, we want to make the concrete jungle more beautiful,” explains Mentrup, who lives in Schwabing himself. More greenery is needed for this and a well is being considered.
Munich: SPD politicians want to “make the concrete desert more beautiful”
Another topic: the redesign of Hohenzollernstrasse. With more and more cars, there is hardly any space left for pedestrians. The SPD would therefore like to partially restrict traffic. Buses and cyclists should still be able to drive, but pedestrians should have more space. The plan could also help the small shops: “Tourists used to be in Kaufingerstrasse and Munich residents in Leopoldstrasse and Hohenzollernstrasse. There were special things here,” Lars Mentrup recalls. But smaller, unique shops are often squeezed out today.
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Munich: “It used to be more comfortable and relaxed,” says a woman from Schwabing
The situation is similar for Claudia Hübner (59), who has lived in Schwabing for almost 35 years. “It used to be more comfortable and relaxed. People talked to each other more.” Her favorite place: Café Extrablatt on Leopoldstrasse – now Bar Giornale. “My highlight was when Roman Polanski sat next to me.” Nevertheless, she loves her neighborhood: “There are the Art Nouveau houses, many galleries and pubs that still retain the flair.” The younger people now kept more and more in the direction of Wedekindplatz on.
“Everything used to be very colorful here, but now it’s become pretty much the same – the district has changed completely, has almost fallen asleep a bit,” agrees Alexander Bertrand (69), who has been running his business, which specializes in workwear, for 40 years. in Hohenzollernstrasse. “I miss the variety today. That used to attract a wide variety of people,” he says.
This was confirmed by Jerma Tuleweit (28), who has lived in Schwabing for five years and has worked there for ten years. “The shops are dying,” she says. Real estate agents are increasingly represented. The 28-year-old believes that the residents have also simply changed. “I have the feeling that only a very rich social class lives here in Schwabing,” she says. There is also almost no contact. “I think that’s really a shame.” (Marie-Theres Wandinger)
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